McCarthy reveals magic of title bid

Mick McCarthy has revealed the bizarre lengths Sunderland fans have gone to in an attempt to aid the club's Premiership passage and vowed to do his utmost to ease the tension gripping Wearside this afternoon.

Mick McCarthy has revealed the bizarre lengths Sunderland fans have gone to in an attempt to aid the club's Premiership passage and vowed to do his utmost to ease the tension gripping Wearside this afternoon.

The Black Cats will be promoted should they beat Leicester and Ipswich fail to take three points at Leeds but, with so much at stake, McCarthy expects an anxious occasion at the Stadium of Light.

With more than 30,000 tickets having been sold by yesterday lunchtime - and thousands more expected to be snapped up in the approach to one of the most-important fixtures in the club's recent history - McCarthy has told supporters they will have a key role to play in helping the Coca-Cola Championship leaders achieve the result they require.

And having experienced at first hand one of the more unusual good luck rituals designed to help the Wearside cause, the Sunderland boss is keen not to prolong the suffering of the red-and-white ranks.

"I played golf for the SAFC Foundation (the club's charity arm) this week with a lovely old chap," explained McCarthy, of a touching afternoon spent at Ramside Hall with life-long Black Cats supporter George Wheatley at the start of this week.

"He was a really nice chap. We had not been talking about football but, at the end of the round, he said `Good luck' and told me that he will be getting his bones out and putting them in circles and squares and chanting and all sorts of stuff like that.

"I thought it was really nice. I know all that the fans have their rituals, and I find it interesting. I just hope we can do it for George and stop him from having to get his worry beads and his bones out again."

Voodoo-style rituals are hardly commonplace on Wearside but McCarthy knows that all with the club close to their hearts will be praying for a decisive result which will spare them another two weeks of uncertainty. "I hope for all our sakes that we can do it," he said. "There's anxiety and there's excitement around the place and we are having to try and temper everyone's feelings.

"It's going to be tense and the players need the supporters behind them, not getting too anxious, because we are a lot better with their support.

"It will be a real test because the anticipation of the crowd at the Stadium of Light is massive and it adds to the pressure. The nerves aren't as great away from home but we just have to handle it."

McCarthy's efforts should be aided by the presence of George McCartney and Gary Breen, both of whom are expected to shake off their respective hamstring problems, while Thomas Myhre will undergo a late fitness test on the back problem which prevented him from playing at Ipswich last weekend.

With just two games remaining after this weekend, Sunderland are keen to clinch promotion ahead of next week's difficult trip to West Ham. And, although events at Elland Road could determine whether or not that is possible this afternoon, the Black Cats manager has told his players to retain full focus on the job in hand.

"There's no point worrying about anyone else, we have just got to take care of our own business," he said.